Not sure how to process this information. After a follow up with my lawyers today, was informed the following
“We went today to AIMA, for a special meeting with one director, and they are currently approving investors and family that collected biometrics in end of May 2023, so almost if reaching June’23”
Does that means Lisbon office sent bios before May to other offices, so they start to process end of May and even June bios? How can they do this, because our Jan 2023 bios are still waiting! It takes so long time for us.
As I know the early Jan 2023 bios got final approval in end of Nov and Dec 2024. They also got cards very quickly only 2 weeks after DUC payment at that time. They are so lucky! As other us have no idea when we will receive final approval since our files are not in Lisbon office anymore.
No, not quite. Mine and my wife’s were on Jan 18, 2023. I got a final approval Jan 16, 2025. My wife still did not. And that is with a lawsuit filed in May 2024 and won in Aug 2024. I still don’t have a card.
It would be great news for me if that’s the case! Our application was approved in March 2020 (exactly five years ago), and we completed our biometrics in Lisbon in May 2023. If they are now processing biometrics collected in May 2023, we should be hearing some news soon. Will that be the case?
Has anyone who did their biometrics in May 2023 in Lisbon recently received approval?
Why not applying straightforwardly for citizenship
Since you achieved 5 years of residency based on the new laws ( time counting starting application)
Saving meanwhile more legal and provider services as well as substantial gvt fees …?
I believe that the new law explicitly states that the waiting period counts as long as the application is ultimately approved. Definitely worth applying as soon as the card is issued, though!
The law also states that you need to be approved and have 5 years since application.
Brief update on our visas. I think we are just done. We applied and were approved in April 2021 and did biometrics in Lisbon in August 2022. My kids were 13 and 15 at the time. Now we are being asked for police reports for both kids, apostilled and translated…I have told our lawyers “no”. We won’t be spending more time, money and energy for police reports on children that were 13 and 15 years when we were approved. At this point it is beyond offensive that due to the general ineptitude of Portugal they now want further documents and delays…so, we are done, I guess.
I am sorry this happened to you. It’s very unfortunate. You are not alone in this. When we all started the documents had to be given in once and then the entire process would be completed.
We have had to sue them to get our biometrics - (four figure extra cost and pain ) - took us almost a year from filing lawsuit to get appointments; 2+ years since the investment.
We have just done another full set of documents because of delay between submission and pre approval and had to generate police clearances from multiple countries (again ) and go through a Portuguese consulate for legalization which is not in the country - where the security situation was so poor that we struggled to get the legalized documents out of the country because the embassy won’t send them to AIMA (and AIMA won’t accept a scan from the embassy. ). Again over $2K spent on the documents, let alone time and stress. I know there are people with way more scars on their story - this is an ordinary journey.
Given overall GV costs a couple police clearances is small. Also you are closing in on being eligible for citizenship application in a year. Your decision is of course yours , and AIMA is what it is (a source of endless frustration ) , just wanted to empathize with your situation
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Thanks. No worries. I really don’t want to be part of a country that does this though. We are lucky that we already have received residency in another country, so I just don’t have the energy for this. The investment could also be used better elsewhere. Good luck with yours and thank you for the empathy.
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Lawsuit also. Dependent biometrics 6 Jan 2025. Approval 9 Jan 2025. Paid immediately. Just got one of the 3 cards this week. No idea what happened to the other two or why this one got issued and delivered first. I think you should get yours in the next week or two if this is anything to go by.
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To apply for citizenship, you must first obtain the residency card. Once you have the card and it has been 5 years since the initial approval, you will be eligible to apply for citizenship. Without the first residency card, you cannot apply.
Wow, lucky you! Only 3 days between the biometrics and approval? Are you referring to Portugal, or was that a typo?
correction: ‘since the initial submission and payment of DUC’
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I suppose this is a ‘new process’ at work, whereby AIMA collects the DUC on-site during the biometrics and the case becomes ‘final-approved’ aka ‘Transferred/Transferido SIISEF’ without a further months/years/centuries gap.
The remaining problem is they are still not issuing new bio appointments under this process despite Jan 2025 promises.
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The logic for giving late biometric appointments so much preference by actually approving their visas in a matter of weeks, over those of us who have waited since applying in 2021 and with biometric appointments in January 2023 has no basis in logic or equity. AIMA, or the people who set priorities for AIMA, are doing nothing to create trust in those of us who will eventually be citizens of this country. At least we might be able to be citizens if we don’t die of old age waiting for our first residency card.
I think we hold the record - yes they took only 3 days before aksing me to pay. We were as surprised as anyone.
Congratulations! This is super-fast for AIMA!!!
I hope you are right about our case, but I think you might have “squeezed into” the small windows that was opened during brief recognition of need to process GV applicants, and now has been slammed shut again. In any case, I just continue to roll with the punches and see how this drama will play out.
Maybe we will become “honorary citizens”? 